Month: May 2020

Screen Printing Tips: Helpful Info on Silk Screening White Ink and Screen Print Technique

It seems that one of the most common problems new screen printers run into is printing white ink. I’ve heard a lot of questions like: Why do all my other colors print fine and white is so tough? Why is it that my white ink is so thick? Why can’t I get a smooth white ink? It’s always rough and seems to have texture to it. Is there anything I can do to thin my white ink to make it easier to print? Also comments like: “Our white ink is bad, it comes off after only a couple of washes.” “There’s something wrong with my press, it prints fine when I am printing on white shirts, but when I print on dark shirts the white ink is very blurry.”

Unfortunately, the answers to these quarries usually lie in the printer themselves. No, your white ink isn’t defecting, your press probably works fine, and you shouldn’t need to thin the ink. Yes, you probably need to change some variables and techniques during the printing process. The truth of the mater is, the answer is in the question all along.

So why does the screen printing process work fine for a while and then as soon as you start printing white ink, smash, a road block. The truth is, you may have been doing the wrong things the whole time, it just didn’t show up yet . It’s like swimming, sure you can dog paddle and flounder around the pool all day. However, when it comes to swimming a long distance, without the proper techniques you’ll work twice as hard and get half as far.

Printing on light garments is much easier than printing white on dark garments. On a light garment, not as much ink is required to achieve good coverage. Also many times you’re working with thinner inks. Ink varies in viscosity according to how much pigment it has in it. For instance, a black ink is almost always going to be printed on lighter colors, the pigments needed for the black to show up are considerably less then the pigments needed for a white ink to cover a dark garment. Thus, you’re black ink is much thinner and easier to work with. You can do almost every technique wrong when printing black ink on a white shirt, and there’s still a good chance that your final print will look pretty good. Since the ink is thinner, it passes through the screen mesh much easier, with less force, and clears the screen better. (For those unfamiliar with the term “clearing the screen,” this defines the point when all ink is cleared out of the screen mesh and properly transferred to the shirt.) mytshirtkings

So basically when setting up a screen printing job that requires black ink on a white shirt, you can use the wrong screen mesh, have no off contact, and print with the completely wrong squeegee technique and still get an “OK” looking final print. However, if these same wrong techniques are tried when printing white ink, uh oh, game over! The unfortunate thing is, many printers start out this way and teach themselves completely wrong. In fact, this is how I learned. It’s not the end of the world though!

The first thing you’ll have to understand and come to terms with is the fact that white ink is probably going to be the thickest ink you’ll ever use. To achieve a bright white image on a black shirt, the ink has to be opaque which in turn means thicker. Sure you can find thinner white inks, or try to reduce the thicker ones, however you’re defeating the purpose and you’ll end up printing twice as much to try and achieve the same result. On the other hand, if you learn how to print correctly, then printing white is like taking a walk in the park. MYTSHIRTKINGS

Over the past several years, every ink manufacturer in the country has been on the hunt for the “best” white ink on the market. Yes, they’ve come a long way. In fact twenty or thirty years ago white on black looked more like a light tan or gray than white. Now with inks available like Triangle Phoenix White or International Coatings White, you can achieve maximum coverage with minimal passes. Still, white ink has to be loaded with pigment which means it will always have a high viscosity.

Understanding the Basics of Online Slot Machine Games

I recently carried out a short study of the basic building blocks of shelving systems and discovered I could make structural sections for small bridges, workbenches, shelves, partitioning, fencing and a whole range of very practical equipment to serve as day to day work equipment. This article demonstrates how a little imagination and a few power tools can transform you into a professional improviser and money saver. In an age of mounting costs and financial pressures it is still possible, with minimal investment, PG Slot  to create very useful, low cost equipment at a fraction of the cost of retail prices. With modern hand tools, what used to take hours and be tedious work, has become fast, fun and rewarding. If you thought slotted angle was a museum piece, think again. There is more low cost, fast build functionality to be extracted out of slotted angle in less time than a trip to the local D.I.Y branch to buy a flat pack of lesser strength and less specific to your needs.

Getting Inventive

Slotted angle is one of the cheapest and most versatile sections. Rolled by the mile and finished in an anti corrosive coating, it is an ideal solution for a range of useful working facilities easily constructed in a bespoke fashion specific to the task you have in mind, whether it be in the garden shed, green house, garage or at work. For the input of your own time you can easily create some impressive equipment at a price and quality which you will find impossible to match elsewhere. Starting with some very simple construction shapes, it is very easy to see how a rectangle, square or triangle can be very simply constructed. These are the building blocks for any basic structure or frame. Once you have a frame you can clad it or line it to enclose or control the space you have created. Angles can be put back to back to form a ‘T’ shape, assembled toe to toe to create strong structural box sections or channel and even ‘I’ beams or ‘H’ sections. As the angles are all pre-punched they provide perfect fixing surfaces for finishing, access, storage or mobility fixings and thereafter you are limited only by your own imagination.

Structural shapes are created by a simple joining mechanism comprising a square or angle plate as a valuable but very low cost accessory. A cut section can easily be used to join up two lengths to extend and create load bearing sections for deployment into your creation. Once built the sections may then be joined to form new structural shapes, such as rectangular frames or trusses. Other simple but very effective load bearing shapes, such as angle brackets, can easily be made up for stiffeners and nut and bolt fasteners are quick to use with power tools. Armed with these power tools you can make your own workbench or storage rack and get into production to equip your home or business at very affordable prices.

Savings – What to expect

There are so many uses, for example the slotted angle on its own is a quick and strong way to fix up a P.V.C. strip door. By joining it to other angles it is easy to change the shape and strength to enable you to span larger distances. It is easy to manufacture triangular support brackets to enable the angles to be cantilevered forward away from a wall to avoid obstructions. You can also make wall mounted shelves and storage systems in the same way. A £145 fabricated version of a bin rack to hold plastic bins to organise components for assembly work can be made by yourself for less than £30. A luxury workbench which would retail for over £300 can be built for under £200. This is a saving of 30% and provides a work top, two lower shelves and two over shelves. Louvred panels, holding tools or more storage containers can be easily added. Trolleys can be constructed from about £30 plus castors or a flat top work bench can be constructed from as little as £70 to which lighting rails, power track for electric sockets or tool rails are a very easy addition. Even conveyors can be made from as little as £90. One kit will easily make a workbench or trolley.

20 Practical things to make

It is a really easy way to save money and get a made to measure job. With modern power tools they are very fast to build. A bench can be easily made up in an hour making it as quick as many D.I.Y. self assembly kits at a fraction of the cost. There has never been a better time to be your own D.I.Y. entrepreneur. Here is a list of items you can easily construct from slotted angle

Materials Handling Engineering is about improvisation, design, good use and application of materials and equipment to help you do your work productively, efficiently and above all safely. Just as doctors save lives, engineers save time and money and make your resources go further and last longer.

Brochures and ‘buy on line’ have their place, as do niche manufacturers, but if you really want to see what your business is truly capable of and you want that elusive pole position then materials handling is a must have facility which, when properly integrated into your work place, delivers measurable results consistently. It is this essential equipment that gets you up your particular Everest every day.